In 2025, the MENA region faced overlapping crises including conflict, displacement, economic collapse, disease outbreaks, and climate shocks, placing children at risk and disrupting access to services.
At least 2,196 people have been killed, including 172 children, and 7,185 wounded, including 661 children, following weeks of deadly airstrikes and military operations in Lebanon.
8 April marked the deadliest day of the conflict, with at least 303 people killed, including 33 children, and over 1,150 injured, including 153 children. The escalation has sharply increased protection risks for children, highlighting the acute threat to their safety, wellbeing, and access to essential services.
This year, the International Day of Mine Awareness on April 4th serves as a reminder of the need to invest in Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) and the importance of clearing land of explosive threats, enabling communities to live safely while investing in their resources.
The February 2026 airstrikes on Iran triggered a rapid escalation of risks across the region, intensifying gender-based violence (GBV) exposure in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, while further degrading already fragile protection systems and service delivery structures.
During his recent visit to Lebanon on 31 March, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, engaged Government officials, first responders and affected families impacted by the escalation.
In Gaza, restrictions on aid operations mounted as crossing closures were accompanied by the suspension of humanitarian movement coordination, medical evacuations, returns of residents from abroad, and staff rotations. The closure of the crossings drove up prices and increased reliance on humanitarian assistance.
2025 marked one of the most devastating chapters in Sudan’s recent history. Across the country, communities endured overlapping humanitarian crises that affected the lives of millions across Sudan.
The situation in Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh and Ar-Raqqa governorates has largely stabilized in recent days, following the agreement announced on 30 January 2026. Active hostilities have subsided, bringing a greater sense of calm, even as localized incidents, precautionary security measures, and community concerns persist in many areas.
South Sudan continues to face severe humanitarian emergencies driven by climate shocks, relentless violence, multiple disease outbreaks and a struggling economy.
On 11 January, a ceasefire agreement was announced, following which initial, limited return movements were observed, particularly to the Ashrafiyeh neighbourhood. Returns to Ash-Sheikh Maqsoud remain gradual, pending authorization and completion of UXO clearance.
After more than a decade of conflict, Yemen remains one of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises. The country continues to face the compounded impacts of conflict, climate change, economic collapse, and the near-total breakdown of public services and institutions.
Over 1.9 million internally displaced persons and close to 1.3 million Syrian refugees have returned to their areas of origin or other locations across Syria. Around 57 per cent of the returnees are children.
Children in the Syrian Arab Republic continue to face significant vulnerabilities after 14 years of conflict. Despite renewed engagement following the change in authorities in late 2024, humanitarian needs are rising due to large-scale returns, economic decline, climate shocks and damaged infrastructure.
The situation in Sudan remains extremely volatile, marked by escalating violence, mass displacement, and the near-collapse of essential services. Communities fleeing El Fasher and surrounding villages are arriving in remote areas with almost no access to maternal health care, protection services, or functioning health facilities.
2025 has brought unprecedented challenges to Yemen. Drastic funding cuts have forced aid agencies to scale back many life-saving programmes. Seasonal floods have once again devastated communities, sweeping away people’s homes and belongings.
The humanitarian situation in southern Syria remains unpredictable, with insecurity, displacement, and service disruptions continuing to affect communities across As-Sweida, Dar’a, and Quneitra governorates during the reporting period.
This study examines gendered experiences of arbitrary detention in Al-Hol and interrogates core assumptions of women’s alleged links or family ties to ISIL/Da’esh.
In 2025, UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal for Syria requires US$488 million to meet urgent needs of children and families across the country.
